Cuba offers little in the way of cheap accommodation—there are not the backpacker hostels that you will find in other parts of Latin America. Hotels are expensive and out of the price range of the lower-end traveler on a tighter budget. This leads most budget travelers to head to Casa Particulares for their accommodation on their trip to Cuba.

Casas Particulares are homes belonging to Cubans who provide one or two rooms for rent. The Casas are regulated by the government and it is possible to tell if a casa is legal or not by whether it has the government symbol outside (a blue sign that looks like an I). However, not all legal Casas display this symbol. It is recommended that you stay at legal casas. The Cuban authorities will offer you less support in case of problems if you stay at a non-approved Casa. Legally, Casa owners can only allow two people to stay in one room at any one time, unless the third is a small child.

Casas vary significantly in quality from basic rooms in a house, to nicely decorated, well maintained and appointed rooms. Usually the biggest difference between the Casas is the family who runs it. If you come across a great Casa, it will usually belong to a very friendly, helpful family who want to facilitate you having a pleasant stay in their home and in their town. They will provide information about things to see and do, and will often help out with renting of bikes or booking taxis and arranging trips for you.

Most Casas offer rooms that have one double bed and one single. In some cases only one double bed is provided, or less commonly, two double beds. The better Casas almost always have a minimum of a fan, but usually air conditioning as well. A good number of them also have private bathrooms attached to the rooms, but in some cases you will have to share a bathroom with another room. Water is not always hot, so check if that is a requirement. You may have your own private entrance, but in most cases you will not.

One of the great benefits about staying in a Casa, is that if your Spanish is up to it, or if their English is, you can really learn a lot about Cuban family life and how Cubans live. Many Casa owners enjoy chatting with you to find out a bit about how you live too and how life is in your home country.

Another benefit of staying in a Casa, is that in most cases, especially outside of Havana, food will be offered at breakfast time and in the evening. You can usually arrange the time to suit you with the owner. The food that you get is usually a vast improvement over the local restaurants and you will not often find the volumes lacking. The dinner is traditional and usually consists of a delicious black bean soup followed by meat or fish with rice, sometimes fries and lots of vegetables. Breakfast invariably includes bread, jam or honey, a fine helping of fruit and eggs, with coffee and juice. Breakfast costs between CUC3 and 5 depending on the Casa and its location, and dinner between CUC5 and 10.

Casas normally cost between CUC20 and 30 in Havana (usually at the upper end of that scale) and CUC15 to 25 outside of Havana. These rates can also vary depending on the season and your negotiation skills. However, remember when you are bargaining hard that Casa owners have to pay very high government taxes and do not make a lot of money from your stay. It is helpful to book a Casa in advance, but if you don’t, you will usually have no trouble finding one—the owners tend to mob the Viazul buses arriving in town. Usually casa owners in one town can recommend other places in that town if they are full, or other places in cities across Cuba.